Communications Blog

10/7 Week in Review

October 7, 2017

Week In Review

Tragedy in Las Vegas

As you know, on Sunday night a gunman murdered 58 people at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas. Washington State Democrats Chair Tina Podlodowski sent out an email earlier this week. In case you didn’t get it, here is what she said:

As Tina mentioned above, all four Republican members of the Washington State Congressional Delegation receive money from the gun lobby, a conglomerate of special interest groups like the National Rifle Association and Gun Owners of America who are hellbent on making sure not just that guns remain legal (as they publicly claim their mission to be), but that guns see a grand revival as a prolific and integral part of American culture.

Donations like those to Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Dan Newhouse, Jaime Herrera Beutler, and Dave Reichert are not unusual. The reason the gun lobby is a political powerhouse is that it turns its vast sums of money directly into contributions to political candidates and elected officials. And we’re not in the clear just because Reichert is retiring. Dino Rossi, the Republican running to replace Reichert in the 8th Congressional District, has an “A” rating from the NRA, meaning he would be even more in lock step with the gun lobby. Check out this interactive feature from Politico that breaks down just how much money each member of Congress receives from the gun lobby.

The party whose candidates receive the most money from the NRA? No surprises. It’s Republicans. However, the scope of the difference between donations to Republican candidates and donations to Democratic candidates is stark and enlightening.

The NRA and other pro-gun groups give nearly 56 times as much to Republicans as they give to Democrats. That’s because on the whole, Democrats realize that there are very real problems with the way the NRA sees the world.

Counterbalancing whatever heydey the gun lobby is trying to relive are real American lives.

Democrats recognize that responsible gun ownership is woven into the fabric of many American communities. And we have no intention--or even desire--to change the principles of these communities or the way of life chosen by their members. We want to ensure that those who responsibly own guns may continue to do so.

But we can also see that the current laws are not doing enough to curtail the epidemic of gun violence.

Mass shootings have seeped into American life. Each individual event is mind-bendingly horrific and tragic. But our collective refusal to respond to each mass shooting serves to normalize them as an American phenomenon. The litany of mass shootings over the past few decades has morphed into a drumbeat, driving everyone who hears it to act, to try to find some way to stop the violence. But groups like the NRA and the Republicans beholden to them pretend that they don’t hear anything.

Democrats want to have a meaningful discussion on how to protect Americans’ second amendment rights while implementing sensible reform.

Meanwhile, the special interests at the top of the NRA pay Republicans to thwart its own members’ demands.

If you didn’t get a chance to sign the petition in Tina’s email, please join us and add your name. We want to be unified in telling Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Dan Newhouse, Jaime Herrera Beutler, and Dave Reichert that it’s time for them to join Democrats at the table to discuss the solutions that Americans are yearning for.

Upcoming Town Halls

Washington State Democratic Party Chair Tina Podlodowski will be holding two town hall meetings this week: one on October 10th in Snohomish and one on October 12th in Olympia. If you’d like to attend, RSVP through the link below:

The 9th Annual Women of Valor awards, hosted by Senator Maria Cantwell, will take place next weekend in Seattle with Senator Elizabeth Warren. There are still tickets available for purchase here!

Senator Cantwell has worked closely with Senator Warren on a range of issues in the U.S. Senate. They co-sponsored the 21st Century Glass-Steagall Act, a bill that would implement common-sense banking regulations and protect consumers from high-risk transactions conducted by their banks. They have also worked together to protect vital Department of Energy programs that President Trump sought to defund.

If you’re not able to make a canvass or training but still want to help support our organizing efforts during the 2017 Special Election and into 2018, sign up for our monthly grassroots donor program, The Resistance. Every dollar goes directly into our statewide organizing program so that we can win in every race, in every place.

WA Democrats Latest Posts

Once again, WA State is leading the way! Governor Jay Inslee just signed into law automatic voter registration, Election Day registration, pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds, and the state Voting Rights Act. It's a good day for Democracy.